Kings condemn brawling fans

Eastern Province Rugby has responded to a video of fans fighting in the stands during the match between the Sharks and the Kings on Saturday.

Eastern Province Rugby has responded to a video of fans fighting in the stands during the match between the Sharks and the Kings on Saturday.

In the video, filmed at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday, a disgreement over seating between fans escalates into a brawl, with numerous punches thrown.

Eastern Province Rugby interim CEO Charl Crous said that the incident was unfortunate, and explained that they will do everything they can to avoid similar occurences in the future.

"Eastern Province Rugby does not condone this type of behaviour and we are calling on all our spectators to please behave themselves in a respectable manner when attending a game. We want a day at the rugby to be a pleasant experience for everyone.

"With regards to the issue of security and police visibility, which has been raised following this video, we are working closely with Access Management to address these concerns," he said.

Crous explained that 43 people who were not able to behave themselves in an appropriate manner were removed from the stadium grounds on Saturday, and added that a zero tolerance policy will be adopted in future.

"We will also be lobbying police to assist with regards to more visible policing, and will be assisting Access Management with other initiatives such as education campaigns around encouraging people to sit in their reserved seats.

"We would also like to take this opportunity to say that it is unfortunately only a small minority of people who are responsible, and thank the majority for their ongoing support.

"We would like to encourage these people to assist us in routing out the bad apples by making use of the sms line, 0832045056, to report incidents on game day," said Crous.